Mossy fibers of the hippocampal formation in prenatal malnourished rats.

Timm's impregnated mossy fiber plexus, in five coronal levels throughout the hippocampal complex, of normal and prenatally protein deprived rats at 15, 30, 90 and 220 days of age were analyzed. Morphometric computer assisted image analysis, showed significant decrease in total extent of the mossy fibers area in the prenatally malnourished rats on postnatal day 15 at levels 2, 3, and 4; on day 90 at level 1, and on day 220 at all five levels. This pattern of diet effect is similar to that noted at the same ages in the prior studies of the granule cell dendrites (Brain, Res., 1990; 532:271-277, J. Comp. Neurol, 1991; 310:356-364). This similarity of effects at these loci suggests that the diet effects on the hippocampal trisynaptic circuit are closely linked to each other. In all loci the effect of the diet was most marked on P220, indicating the late appearance of dietary deprivation effects in the hippocampal formation.